An Extra Hour of Sleep
Evangelene Whitney writes about potential schedule changes at GPHS and how they may impact the community.
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an extra hour of sleep for
an extra hour of sleep for
students at gphs?
students at gphs?
Written by Evangelene Whitney
Written by Evangelene Whitney
As schools reopen post-pandemic, and students and teachers alike begin to get back into their regular routines, questions regarding the connection between sleep and health have risen from their previous grave in our local community. Though many students seem to agree that more sleep will be beneficial, another side argues that an extra 40 minutes of sleep every morning is unnecessary. However, an extra hour of sleep every night has been proven to positively affect any developing teenager's health.
To understand how this connects to our community, we must first understand what is recent and upcoming when it comes to potential changes at GPHS. Recently, through emails and the app Parentsquare, those who reside at GPHS have been alerted of Aniko LaFrance Hernandez, a junior at our school, who has voiced interest in pushing the beginning of the school day 33 minutes back to 8:25 a.m. According to a poll distributed to GPHS students, the pending changes include: “Begin school around 8:30 a.m., end around 3:30 p.m. Buses drop off around 8:05 a.m. Athletic practices being around 3:45 p.m. On Wednesday, begin school at 9:30 a.m.” This change brings concerns among both parents and students alike over the matters of transportation, after-school activities, and more. However, these issues can be clarified to ease stress over this beneficial addition.
A majority of the concerns over this topic nationwide have been over the need for this extra hour of sleep. Changes in schedules for transportation and daily activities both during and after school have caused many people to consider whether or not this change is necessary. However, by taking a step back and looking at how beneficial sleep can be, that extra hour of sleep is a game changer for many students. According to the CDC, studies have found that “Children and adolescents who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, and problems with attention and behavior.” This extra hour of sleep in the morning will allow for more students to receive more sleep, decreasing the number of mental health issues that are growing within both our small town and worldwide. A study from the World Health Organization has clarified that struggles regarding mental health have climbed 13 percent over the last decade, which is an alarming number considering how much more it may climb as more students go back to school and their sleep schedules adjust. The mental health crisis in the United States cannot be ignored, which undoubtedly affects our community in Grants Pass.
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An important question to ask is the impact of that extra hour being proposed in the morning for students to sleep in. Will this change be beneficial for our students, or will it allow them to stay up later every night? Elite Daily, a website reporting on all topics related to our daily lives, writes that ”college students are indeed exhausted — not because they aren’t getting enough shut-eye, but because their sleep schedules aren't consistent enough.” This is true but is in regards to students who are older and have more elements in their schedules that may not apply to high school students. High schoolers who sleep earlier will most likely gain from the extra hour every morning. Rise and Shine, a website from the experts of the Children's National Hospital, clarifies that “Many high schools start classes around 7:30 am, while most teenagers fall asleep around 11 pm.” Additionally, they state that students who receive an extended time in the morning to rest gain more energy and are less likely to fall asleep during their classes. This change, when students make the choice to fall asleep at regular times, can bring them more energy, and therefore motivation, to show up and participate in their courses on campus.
The adjustment from online to in-person classes has been hard on every community recently, causing a large impact on mental health. With concerns rising and stress increasing among students and teachers alike, a schedule change like this to Grants Pass High School would be beneficial and outweigh any small and fixable downsides that may be created. With this change, more positivity and motivation will be brought to our community at school every day.
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